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Turn Back the Pendulum: Back to Where it All Began...
The Pendulum again heads in an unfamiliar direction... Takes us back... But for the time being, Father Time... The saga continues to unfold right before our very eyes... Born in the darkness, what was once concealed from all comes to light... The undeniable truth, that now emerges from the darkness beneath the abyss of the Soul Society... Let us examine the events leading up to the present! Their beginnings, born in the darkness! The Night a Demon is Born One Thousand Years Ago — Night of the Getsueikirite Genocide Young Tadoku Getsueikirite huddled, his infant nephew tucked tight against his chest, beneath a giant tree in the depths of the woods surrounding the Rukongai. Heated tears streamed down his cold cheeks, stinging against the cruelty of the world. So many members of his family were dead. For all he knew, he could be holding the last member of his family in his own small arms right this instant. He didn't have time to reflect on the woes of the world, however. A noise snapped him out of his crying, alerting his senses. It sounded as though a twig had been snapped. Tadoku would have his answer soon, though. From the thicket, a large man emerged, bearing the clothing of the Shinigami. Fear immediately set in. They'd found him! The bespectacled Shinigami had even seemed to have already spotted him, and was walking casually in his direction. Tadoku froze, fear seeming to chill the very blood pumping through his tiny veins. He couldn't seem to bring himself to run from the Shinigami, and so, slowly but quietly, resigned himself to his fate... Until the man spoke; "Do not be afraid, young Getsueikirite." the man said, his voice deep and baritone, yet calm and kind. "I am not here to kill you." "I-I don't believe you!" Tadoku managed through his tears. "Go away!" The Shinigami certainly did not go away, but, instead, continued speaking, "Now then, you're defenseless. Allow me to assist you. Here..." The Shinigami reached for the Zanpakutō resting in its sheathe on his waist. Tadoku tenses, but his fears were suddenly eased when the man drew the sword and stabbed it into the ground, out of his own reach. "There, see?" the man continued. "My sword is out of reach. You have nothing to fear. Now, why don't you bring me that baby while you take a breather." Slowly and reluctantly, Tadoku drew closer to the man, forfeiting his infant nephew, Raian Getsueikirite, to the man's tender embrace. The Shinigami wrapped Raian close to his chest, as Tadoku had been doing, and then stood again, gently rocking him back and forth, as a father would to a son. With this done, Tadoku collapsed, out of breath and exhausted from the stress and anxiety of the night. After a few minutes, he finally managed to speak again. "Who... who are you?" the young soul asked. The Shinigami man regarded him with affection, "Aizen... Aizen Sōsuke." the Shinigami replied with a smile. "I'm Tadoku.. Getsueikirite Tadoku." Tadoku replied meekly. "Pleased to meet you, Tadoku-kun." Aizen greeted the boy. "How scared you must be. I know what happened back there." "Yeah..." Tadoku replied, his eyes narrowing with remorse. "Those Shinigami killed all of my family... And destroyed our homes... and..." "That is the nature of the Shinigami." Aizen interjected, cutting him off. "They are destroyers. Destroyers of life. They cared nothing for your family. Even this infant's life means nothing to them." "But," Tadoku spoke again. "Aren't you a Shinigami too?" Aizen smiled softly, "In species only. The Shinigami are a godless race. I hope to bring order to their chaos. To sit upon the throne of god. Then their senseless killing will be stopped." Tadoku fell into silence upon hearing this, drooping his head as if to contemplate what he had just been told and, at the same time, continue to mourn the loss of his family. "Would you want to help with my plan?" Aizen suddenly asked, causing Tadoku to look up at him again. "With your help, we could avenge your family, and protect this little one." Akujin wiped his eyes of tears, "I would like nothing more, but I have to see if mother and father are alive. If they are, they'll be worried about Raian-kun and myself." he stuttered, obviously anxious of Aizen's intentions. Aizen only smiled in return, "Very well. It should be safe now. Return to your village and see to your parents. But, ponder what I have said, Tadoku-kun. If you should decide to join me, come back to this location. I will be waiting here." he offered. Tadoku nodded and Aizen carefully lowered the infant Raian back into the child's arms and watched him scamper off into the woods in the direction of his village. Once the child had gone from sight, a sinister grin crossed his face. He slowly made his way over to his Zanpakutō, still stabbed in the mud nearby, and retrieved it — sheathing it back into its scabbard. The deed was done. The boy had seen his Shikai. All was going according to plan.... The Plan for a Thousand Years... 600 years ago - During Raian's time as a captain... Aizen, now a member of the 5th Division, sat a large desk chair, in front of a massive monitor, in a secret chamber hidden far below the 5th Division's barracks in the Seireitei. Various images scrolled the giant screen as he sat, cross armed, observing their contents with seemingly great interest. As he observed the screen, a young boy, possessing long silver hair and a snake-like demeanor, entered the chamber, slowly coming up behind Aizen. "Gin," Aizen spoke. "Whatcha lookin' at, Aizen-taichō?" the young Shinigami asked, an unnerving grin on his face. Aizen grinned menacingly, "The pieces of my chessboard." he replied simply. Across the screen was the image of the current captain of the 10th Division, Raian Getsueikirite, walking alongside his friend, then captain of the 8th Division, Seireitou Kawahiru, in the Seireitei courtyard. Both were heading towards the 1st Division barracks, where it seemed other captains from the Gotei 13 were gathering as well, including Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. "What're all the capt'n's up to?" Gin inquired again. "Its a promotion ceremony." Aizen replied. "As you are aware, the war between the Shinigami and the Quincy ended just a few weeks ago. There are vacancies to fill in the captain roster following that war." "Why would ya be interested in such a thing, eh?" Gin pressed. "The next piece of the puzzle will be placed here." Aizen continued. "The war went exactly as I expected. Seireitou's lieutenant, Senka, will be promoted to captain. I'll then be able to move my piece into her place." "Tadoku?" Gin asked. Aizen offered a wicked grin, "Tadoku will be a meaningful pawn in that position. We'll have a direct link to the captains, their movements, their knowledge, and can alter our plans according to that new source of information." he explained. "Why not just become a capt'n for yerself?" Gin continued. "You're powerful enough." "Patience, Gin." Aizen replied, not seeming to mind the endless questions the child was posing him. "We must not move things along too quickly. There are freedoms afforded to me in my position as a lowly officer that would be restricted were I a captain." Rising from his seat, Aizen walked purposely over to the other side of the chamber, picking up a small box-shaped object, wrapped in cloth. With a tug, he removed the cloth, revealing a clear box containing a dark, glowing orb within it. "For now, I need my freedoms to work on my project." Aizen continued. "My Hōgyoku is far from completion." Aizen placed the box within his shihakushō and waved his hand towards an open spot in the room. Without warning, a split in the dimensions appeared, and a Garganta fully manifested mere feet from Aizen himself. "Come, Gin." he instructed. "We must go to Hueco Mundo. Another seed of war needs to be planted." With that, the two Shinigami slowly were engulfed by the large, dark vortex as they entered the portal, and it shut tightly behind them... The Night That Shall Live On Infamy In the Present The moon rose high over the Seireitei skies. Smoldering columns of ash and smoke rose from the burning buildings, forming a large wall cloud in the skies above, threatening to black out the one light source that bathed Soul Society in its glow. Throughout the destruction and carnage, the bodies of Shinigami, Arrancar, and Quincy littered the battlefield, completely torn to pieces by shrapnel, spiritual energy, and other weapons, the broken shells of which lie next to the corpses created by them. High above all of this, the ruins of the 1st Division's barracks was the only building still not on fire. On the scorched hillside in which it sat, Aizen and Akujin observed the battlefield below them, surveying the damage accumulated by both armies. "This reiatsu..." Akujin mumbled to himself, just audibly enough for Aizen to hear him. "Not surprising." Aizen spoke up, placing his hands in his pockets. "The Gotei 13's captains will not fall to mere foot soldiers." In the distance, both men could detect an incredible amount of spiritual pressure as the captains fought in the distance against the remaining living forces of Akujin's Impero Nascosto. Whilst they observed, Akujin reached up to the collar of his wardrobe and pulled an object out - a vial of sorts. He then turned and handed it over in Aizen's direction. "What is this?" Aizen pondered, eying Akujin suspiciously. "My second in command, Muramasa Neikan is a Bount. This is Bount soul extract, created by their . I brought some to present to the Hōgyoku." Akujin replied, holding Aizen's gaze. "So, you're prepared to bring that out then?" Aizen asked, a slightly amused tone in his voice. "We have time. The armies are busy targeting the heart of hearts. We can use that to help us shatter the one here, below the Seireitei." Akujin proposed. Aizen grinned menacingly, "After all these years, Tadoku-kun, you still prefer playing with your prey." he chuckled to himself. Akujin could only grin his own menacing grin in return. However, before he could enact whatever it was he was about to do, several forms materialized out of the darkness of the night, surrounding the two villainous men on the hill. Aizen's eyes narrowed into a glare at the sight of the new arrivals. Akujin himself stopped what he was doing and turned to face the newer figures. "It appears we must deal with this first." Aizen murmured. "Damn straight ya do, Aizen!" came the voice of one of the figures. "Hirako-taichō? So, you were brought back to the Gotei 13? How pitiful." Aizen mocked his accuser. "Akujin." came the petite voice of Unohana, "You have gone to great difficulty to free Aizen from his hold. But this war ends here, with your death." "Unohana-taichō," Aizen interrupted. "Or, should I say, Unohana-sōtaichō? His death is meaningless at this point. Your defeat here was assured the moment I was unleashed." "How did you know I had become Captain-Commander?" Unohana hissed, glaring down at Aizen. "Moreover, why would a being such as yourself assist Akujin?" "What an interesting question." Aizen replied. "You make too many assumptions, Unohana-san. You assumed I could not know about your promotion from my prison. And you assumed that I'' was helping ''him." All of the captains gathered expressed their shock as Akujin chuckled to himself, shaking his head as if in disappointment. "Aizen!" Hitsugaya suddenly erupted. "Don't play your mind games!" "There are no games here, Hitsugaya-kun." Aizen snapped, "Merely, you captains did not foresee this development. I knew that Unohana-san was the Captain-Commander because I had felt Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's death and knew who the logical replacement would be. And I am not helping Tadoku-kun. On the contrary, he is helping me." "You mean..." Hitsugaya gasped. "This whole thing..." Shinji added. "...was your doing?!" Unohana finished. Aizen only offered a grin as confirmation, "All that has transpired, for the past thousand years, has done so according to my design." he replied, drawing stares of shock and awe from the captains. "Now come you thirteen captains of the Gotei 13." Aizen declared, inviting them with one open palm. "Come at me with your full power. I will finish the job I could not complete in the fake Karakura Town. I will show each of you the futility of your efforts." End...